After 10 years of accolades for Serious Players in the Primary Classroom: Empowering Children Through Active Learning Experiences, Selma Wassermann provides readers with a second edition to her classic. Building on the original work, this new edition offers further insight into Wassermann's notion of organizing for instruction known as "Play-Debrief-Replay, a way of structuring curriculum experiences to promote children's active learning in cooperative groups and to foster independent thinking. The book also provides a theoretical framework for implementing teaching for thinking in primary classrooms. By updating references and adding a new chapter on moral dilemmas, including information that is consonant with constructivist ideologies, Wassermann continues to promote ways of teaching that stimulate children's appreciation for social and ethical issues. Her approach is holistic; it not only honors the play of children, but also the work of teachers. Accessible and enlightening, this new edition is a must-read for all early childhood professionals. Parents, too, will find this volume useful.
With growing evidence about the critical period of birth to age 5 for child development and learning, the imperative to professionalize the early childhood education workforce has never been greater. In this follow-up to The New Early Childhood Professional: A Step-By-Step Guide to Overcoming Goliath, the authors share lessons learned from their work with thousands of practitioners. They focus on four Guiding Principles for leading change: the need to Respect diverse opinions, to seek Equity, and to acknowledge the field’s Strengths while doing the hard work to enhance Competence. With a strategic emphasis on building professional communities, strengthening professional capital, and working together to craft solutions, Guiding Principles for the New Early Childhood Professional presents a clearer vision of a unified future in early childhood care and education. “Throughout their careers, and again in this new book, Washington and Gadson have demonstrated the courage, wisdom, and dedication required of ‘architects of change.’” —From the Foreword by Marcy Whitebook, director, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment “In a thoughtful, frank, and inspiring discussion, Washington and Gadson challenge the field of early childhood education to face the realities of our work and take charge of our professional destiny.” —Jacqueline Jones, president, Foundation for Child Development “This book speaks to both the leader and the early childhood professional. It challenges our perspective and offers concrete examples of competence and strengths of early childhood professionals.” —Sherri Killins Stewart, director of state systems alignment and integration, BUILD Initiative
This accessible and engaging work introduces current and future teachers, child care providers, and others interested in early childhood education to the importance of the early years in children’s well-being and success. It summarizes the research on the value of high-quality services for young children, families, and society, showing why early education matters both today and into the future. Emphasizing the need to understand and respect young children’s strengths and unique characteristics, the authors offer inspiration for working in the field, as well as addressing the realistic challenges of implementing developmentally appropriate care and education. Each chapter begins with an introductory vignette focused on one child whose experiences are typical of other children in the same age group or life circumstances, using that child’s experiences to draw out what the best research tells us about why early care and education matters for that group of children. The book also features first-person narratives by early childhood professionals working in a range of positions who offer insight into the complexity and joys of working with or on behalf of young children. Suggestions for further reading and concluding questions for reflection, dialogue, and action make The Early Years Matter a perfect resource for courses and professional development. “Hyson and Tomlinson do not simply provide a straightforward and comprehensive view of early childhood education; they humanize it through the experiences of children, families, and early childhood professionals. They leave the reader with a clear understanding of the myriad of ways in which high-quality early childhood education programs matter in the early years, and they matter a lot.” —From the Foreword by Jacqueline Jones “This book does a remarkable job of inviting future and current practitioners further into the world of the early childhood profession. It provides clear, interesting, and succinct overviews of issues critical for those working in early childhood to understand, weaving in the most recent developments in research, policy, and practice in accessible ways. Each section of the book also literally puts a face on a selected issue, inviting readers to meet a child and family experiencing the issue, as well as colleagues focusing on it in their work. The Early Years Matter is engaging—both a pleasure to read and effective in welcoming readers to take part in work of great significance.” —Martha Zaslow, director, Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), Office for Policy and Communications
In the book, the author is focusing the importance of play for children from 0 years up to 8-12 years of age, e.g. in ECE centers and elementary schools. In particular, the importance of play for learning, through motivation as related to self-competence, inspiration and engagement. In this second edition, the author is emphasizing more thoroughly the importance of play as a challenge of learning, with implications for children, as well as for teachers. Further, the author is referring to how meaning making in children’s production of multi-module narrative products can contribute to their digital personal formation. The selection of theories presented in the second edition is somewhat expanded, and in the end the author is presenting a few important educational challenges of the field of children’s play.
The authors draw on their experiences as a developmental psychologist and as a teacher educator to provide ways for teachers to create positive child-teacher relationships and classroom climates. This forward-looking volume applies attachment theory to child-teacher relationships...explores strategies that teachers can use to foster positive student behavior...provides narrative examples from early childhood classrooms serving primarily low-income children of color...and uses stories from exemplary classrooms as well as those in which teachers are struggling with relationships.
This classic bestseller, now updated for today's diverse teaching force and student populations, explores the benefits of sociomoral practices in the classroom. The authors draw on recent research to show how these approaches work with children ages 2–8. They focus on how to establish and maintain a classroom environment that fosters children's intellectual, social, moral, emotional, and personality development. Extending the work of Jean Piaget, the authors advocate for a cooperative approach that contrasts with the coercion and unnecessary control that can be seen in many classrooms serving young children. Practical chapters demonstrate how the constructivist approach can be embedded in a school program by focusing on specific classroom situations and activities, such as resolving conflict, group time, rule making, decision making and voting, social and moral discussions, cooperative alternatives to discipline, and activity time.
This critically acclaimed, lavishly illustrated book will help educators create the highest quality learning opportunties for a new generation of children. The Second Edition features substantial and important changes, including the addition of new chapters by pioneers of the work that happens in the atelier who draw on several decades of experience. The atelier of studio is a key element of the renowned preschools and infant-toddler centres of Reggio Emeilia, Italy. This beautiful, full-colour resource explores how the experiences of children interacting with rich materials in the atelier affect an entire school's approach to the construction and expression of thought and learning. The authors provide examples of projects and address practical aspects of the atelier, including organizing the environment and using materials. No other book presents a more thorough examination of the philosophy, practice, and essential influence of the Reggio-inspired studio.
This book describes methods of support and intervention teachers can use to create social inclusion in preschool and the primary grades. Combining general early childhood education with special education, this unique volume explains a wide variety of strategies ranging from environmental arrangement, on-the-spot teaching, and cooperative learning, to more intensive, individually-targeted interventions for children experiences challenges and disabilities.
With a focus on the leader’s role in initiating and sustaining anti-bias education in programs for young children and their families, this book is both a stand-alone text and a perfect companion for Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves. It emphasizes that this work is not only about changing curriculum, but requires thoughtful, strategic, long-term planning that addresses all components of an early childhood program. With a powerful combination of conceptual frameworks, strategies, and practical tools, Louise Derman-Sparks, renowned expert on anti-bias education, together with experienced early childhood directors Debbie LeeKeenan and John Nimmo explain the structural and individual changes leaders must foster. Featuring the authors’ extensive experience in the field, supplemented with insights from other anti-bias educators, they build on and expand current thinking about best early childhood leadership practices. This is an essential resource for anti-bias education leaders engaged in change in the wide range of early childhood care and education settings. Book Features: The principles, guidelines, and strategies needed for school- and program-wide transformation. Activities for working with teachers and families to integrate an anti-bias approach. Strategies for supporting and strengthening the leader’s ability to initiate and sustain anti-bias education change, including resources to increase staff skills for implementing anti-bias education with children. Tools for assessing anti-bias education progress and managing mandated standards and assessments. “A concise and powerful message for anti-bias leaders in early childhood education everywhere. A truly inspired gift of lessons from the movement, for the movement.” —Carol Brunson Day, President of the Board, National Association for the Education of Young Children “If you are an educator wanting to see more equity and inclusiveness in the world, at times discouraged confused, or overwhelmed with how to manage the conflict that always emerges in the change process, you’ll find reassurance, resources, and strategic thinking to engage in this anti-bias work.” —Margie Carter, author, The Visionary Director, and international early childhood consultant "It is never too early to prepare children to deal effectively with issues of race, class, gender, family, and ability and equity. This book is a tool box for building early childhood programs that foster sentiments of justice and fairness in leaders, teachers, and young children, and help them to act on these values.” —Herbert Kohl, educator and bestselling author of The Herb Kohl Reader: Awakening the Heart of Teaching
